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OTTAWA — Manufacturing sales fell 2.1 per cent to $69.9 billion in March as sales of petroleum and coal products and motor vehicles fell, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

Olivia Cross, North America economist at Capital Economics, said the result was not as bad as the early estimate that pointed to a drop of 2.8 per cent, but it still means sales fell 0.9 per cent over the first quarter.

Rising geopolitical tensions, climate change and global commerce disruptions are making the jobs of chief procurement officers harder than ever.

According to Deloitte’s 2023 Global CPO Survey, more than 70% of CPOs reported an increase in procurement-related risks and supply chain disruptions over the past year. Inflation and supply shortages were identified as the most pressing challenges, with leaders marking these as “the top two issues that had high or moderate impact over the past 12 months.”

Supply chain attacks are a serious and growing threat to businesses across all industries. However, these attacks pose an even greater risk for manufacturers in critical infrastructure sectors.

One pernicious form of supply chain attack is spoofing, where attackers impersonate legitimate suppliers to sneak malicious code or components into products. Research shows that 2023 had the highest number (2769 in the US alone) of entities affected by supply chain spoofing. This figure is nearly twice as high as the number recorded in 2017.

It's no surprise that Canadians are looking for tech exposure. After all, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on "work from home" solutions to keep people safe. And although life has somewhat returned to normal in a post pandemic environment and tech stocks have taken a hit as of late, the tech sector is still on pace to achieve rapid growth over the next 5-10 years. Having exposure to it will be critical.

Increased reliance on outsourced manufacturing is an ongoing trend supported by data from the 2022 State of Manufacturing Report, which shows 48% of companies reported an increase in outsourced manufacturing this year. Additionally, nearly three-quarters of survey respondents view outsourcing positively while specifying that quality, efficiency, speed, and pricing were the primary benefits.

3D printing is one of the most demanding technologies in today’s world which allows manufacturers to print much more complex designs with the least tools. It reduces the burden on factories and makes production easier and faster in comparison to the traditional ways.

“Manufacturing companies are looking for ways to manage and optimise their operations and supply chains to become more resilient, efficient, sustainable and profitable,” says Indranil Sircar, chief technology officer of manufacturing and supply chain at Microsoft. “Leveraging their existing digital transformation investments while implementing digital twins and digital threads empowers companies with simulation, predictive insights and automation. It gives them a view of their business that spans the past, present and future.” 

Data forms the backbone of any manufacturing enterprise. For companies today, the issue isn’t whether they’re generating enough data, it’s whether they’re getting value from that data. With continuous supply chain disruptions, manufacturers and distributors are turning to Business Intelligence tools to gain the ability to look deeper into production, performance, and efficiency.

The pace of innovation has skyrocketed as businesses have worked hard to keep the doors open in the face of the many challenges this time period has wrought. The manufacturing sector is no exception to this trend. New technologies are reshaping businesses on the factory floor and within the c-suite.

Are your customers raving about you on social media? Share their great stories to help turn potential customers into loyal ones. IBM is the latest vendor to provide a blockchain platform for coffee bean growers looking to track their product on its journey to market – and let consumers trace their java back to the farm to discover where and how it was grown.

Canadian stocks once again underperformed compared to their American peers in 2019, with the S&P 500 returning 31.5 per cent versus the S&P/TSX at 29.0 per cent. 

One of the major challenges for logistics providers, explains Ben Humphries, head of global pre-sales at Montreal-based AI solution developer Element AI, is that the technology they depend on is based on earlier high-volume paradigms. 

Aim of this analysis is to reveal an AI scenario with dynamics of the consumer industry. The report evaluates the AI impact on the semiconductor industry and proposes an in-depth understanding of the AI ecosystem and related players.

Despite all this coverage, and 5G's power to reshape the world around us and how we communicate, public literacy about 5G and why it matters remains remarkably low.

There are many contributors to Intel’s long-running chip production problems. For starters, demand for Intel computer chips has been higher than expected as more businesses depend on resource-intensive applications, cloud computing, and state-of-the-art machines to gain a competitive edge.